OMAHA, Neb. - The Creighton women's basketball team heads to St. Charles, Mo. to begin the defense of their 2012 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Championships. Creighton enters the 2013 Tournament as the No. 2 seed. The Jays open the Tournament on Friday, March 15 against either No. 10 Southern Illinois (4-25) or No. 7 Evansville (9-20) at 6:05 p.m.

Video Stream InformationThe first six games of the MVC Tournament will be streamed free of charge on the Valley Live http://www.valley-live.tv/. This includes Creighton’s opening game against the winner of Thursday’s game between No. 10 Southern Illinos and No. 7 Evansville on Friday, March 15 at 6:05 p.m.

The semi-finals and championship of the MVC Tournament will be available on ESPN3, however it will be blacked out in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Illinois (the states of teams within the MVC).

Live Stats Information: All MVC Tournament games will have free live stats. Visit mvc.statbroadcast.com for the exact links.

Nelson and Janning earn All-MVC First TeamJunior Sarah Nelson and freshman Marissa Janning were named to the All-MVC First Team, announced Wednesday, March 13. Nelson was also named to MVC All-Defensive Team, while Janning was named to the MVC All-Freshman Team.

Nelson leads the Bluejays with 228 rebounds (7.9 rpg) this season and is second on the team in scoring at 12.1 ppg (350 points). Sarah has led the Creighton in scoring ten times in 2012-13, while pacing the Jays on the glass in 21 contests. The most prolific post passer in the NCAA, Nelson has 104 assists. She became the first Creighton post player to eclipse the century mark in assists in a season, since Becky Flynn had 153 in 1993-94 for the Jays. Nelson earned All-MVC Honorable Mention following the 2011-12 season. Nelson leads the MVC in field goal percentage at .508 (135-of-266), has collected 228 rebounds, 41 blocks and nabbed 38 steals.

Janning burst onto the scene for Creighton, leading the Jays with 385 points (13.3 ppg) in 2012-13. The Minnesota native has been among the national leaders in three-pointers made and three-point percentage. She leads the Jays and is second in the MVC with 69 treys, (69-of-168 - .411). After setting the D.J. Sokol Arena record for points with 26 on Feb. 14, Janning took the record up a notch by scoring 29 points to lead Creighton to a 67-66 win over Drake on March 3. The freshman has also dished out 70 assists, collecting 34 steals and grabbed 100 rebounds.

Jays Claim Share of MVC Crown
With a victory over Southern Illinois on Saturday, March 9 the Jays earned a share of the MVC regular-season championship. It is the Jays’ first title since sharing the crown with Indiana State in 2002-03. Creighton was the outright MVC Champion in 2001-02.

Chasing History
With a victory over Southern Illinois, head coach Jim Flanery posted his first perfect home MVC record since 2002-03. It also kept Flanery on pace to surpass his career-high for wins in a season (24 in 2002-03 & 2003-04). The Creighton record for victories in one year (28) was set in 1991-92.

Not In Our House
In addition to earning a share of the MVC crown, Creighton’s win over SIU completing head coach Jim Flanery first perfect home MVC record since 2002-03. At 23-6, Flanery on pace to surpass his career-high for wins in a season (24 in 2002-03 & 2003-04). The Creighton record for victories in one year (28) was set in 1991-92.

Three-Ball on the Way, BANG!
With 273 three-pointers this season, Creighton eclipsed the program record of 260 trifectas set in 2003-04. The Jays set a new program and Valley record for three-point attempts, launching 44 in the Jays 74-69 (ot) win against Evansville on Thursday, March 7.

MVC SeedingWichita State and Creighton shared the MVC regular-season championship, but the Shockers were awarded the No. 1 seed based on the MVC’s second tiebreaker (a point system). Wichita State holds the tiebreaker due to a win at Indiana State. That win carries more points than the Jays win at home over Bradley. Wichita State lost at home to Bradley and Creighton fell at Indiana State.

Helping HandsWith 109 and 104 assists respectively, juniors Carli Tritz and Sarah Nelson are the first Bluejay duo to reach 100 assists in the same season since Becky Flynn and Tracy Landuyt did it in 1993-94.

Nelson & Fujan Among MVC LeadersJuniors Sarah Nelson and McKenzie Fujan are among the MVC leaders in field goal percentage and 3FG% respectively.